You need a Budget App Review (YNAB)

Budget apps run the gamut, from free platforms that give users a basic view, to membership-based apps with more advanced tools.

Whether you’re a hard-core number cruncher, a cash manager or an advanced budgeter, the options are endless – and there’s always the right app for everyone.

Consider your needs before deciding on just about any free budget app. Think about whether you want help keeping track of your incoming and outgoing money, or whether you want more than that. You may also need an app that will help reduce your spending, save you money and get you on the fast track to paying off debt.

If this is the latter, the You Need A Budget (YNAB) app is for you. Out of a dozen more apps compared to CNBC Select when evaluating the best budget apps in 2021, YNAB stood out for being the best budget app for real budget.

Instead of using traditional budget buckets, YNAB users map out a plan for every dollar. This is referred to as the “zero-based budget system,” where you specify a purpose in your budget for each dollar. This budgeting method will help you determine where your money is going.

Below, we review the You Need A Budget (YNAB) app to give you every detail about its features, including tools, benefits, safety, pricing, accessibility and rating so you can decide if it is the right app to manage your money.

You need Budget (YNAB) to automatically sync with your bank, credit card and investment accounts once you connect them to the app.

Unlike other budget apps that typically categorize your spending for you, YNAB users themselves choose where to get every dollar based on their priorities and what’s important to them.

For example, if you have $ 500 in your review account, you would split that $ 500 into different categories, such as “Eating Out,” “Rent” or “Save.”

By assigning “work,” for each dollar you are proactive and have a detailed plan of where your money will go. If a friend wants to go to dinner, instead of just drawing from your survey account without thinking, check your “Eating Out” section to see if you have enough resources.

If the balance is too low, that is a sign to you that you do not have enough to go to dinner.

Over time, this will help you speed up what you want and needs according to the pre-determined budget you decide. Customers can customize where they should assign dollars, set savings goals and adjust their budgets accordingly.

The great benefit of using the YNAB app is that it makes you think about your money and it makes you allocate money towards saving and investing. For these reasons, the app is favored for anyone trying to get out of debt.

Consumer reviews generally agree: According to the YNAB website, the average customer saves $ 600 in their first two months and over $ 6,000 in their first year of trading. using the app.

YNAB also offers educational resources, such as a budget blog, and enhanced personal support for users. Another big perk is 100+ free live, online workshops at YNAB offered weekly by experienced teachers. Workshops are short (20 minutes) and designed around a variety of topics, such as “Getting Started,” “Debt and“ Credit Cards ”,“ Building Savings ”and“ When Money’s Tight. “

YNAB’s security features include encrypted data that sends you codes for access to your information, as well as the use of certified data centers that have achieved strict security standards.

The YNAB app costs $ 84 per year or $ 11.99 per month, which is the maximum for budget apps. Still, signing up for the annual rate instead of paying monthly will save you nearly $ 60.

There is a 34 day free trial so you can try the app before you promise to pay for it. Students will receive 12 free months with transcript confirmation, student ID or tuition statement.

The YNAB app is available in the App Store (for iOS) and is compatible with the iPhone, iPad, iPod touch and Apple Watch. It’s also available on Google Play (for Android), the web and is even compatible with Amazon Echo and Alexa devices, so you can ask about your budget.

Ranking in App Store at time of writing: 4.8 out of 5 (over 29,000 ratings)

Rating on Google Play at the time of writing: 4.1 out of 5 (over 6,800 ratings)

For a budget app that gives you control over your finances, you need Budget (YNAB) as a clear winner. The zero-based budget approach allows you to be efficient in your spending and save in the future.

If you’re trying to get out of debt and stop paying paycheck, check out the app’s free trial to see if it works for you.

Those looking for a budget app with less commitment should try Mint (considered the best free app) or PocketGuard, which has an automatic save feature and is set consumption limits for the consumers.

To find out which budget apps offer the best user experience, CNBC Select analyzed over a dozen apps offered by the leading companies in this market and looked at their pricing, features , user reviews and ratings.

We have reduced our rankings by considering only apps that synchronize transactions from customers’ bank accounts, come with low cost (or no cost), are easy to use and accessible on many devices so they are accessible and compatible for the most part.

The five apps we chose for this ranking are free, offering a free or trial version for users to test before signing up.

The apps as a whole have a large number of user reviews and high rankings. Each app on this list has at least 1,000 reviews in both the App Store (for iOS) and Google Play (for Android), as well as a rating of over 4 stars (out of 5) on each platform.

Other things we looked at included app security features, user customization and educational tools offered.